FC St. Pauli

The intention before the game was to enter the winter break the way the summer break had ended, when the Boys in Brown took on VfL Bochum and beat them with a goal from Christopher Buchtmann. In his second game in charge, however, head coach Markus Kauczinski was not only without the matchwinner that day, but also eight other players. That handed Yiyoung Park his first start this season in place of injured captain Bernd Nehrig, while Jan-Marc Schneider came in to lead the line instead of the suspended Aziz Bouhaddouz.

Operating with a back three that became the en vogue back five whenever they pressed the ball, Bochum seized the initiative early on and played some bold attacking football. The first chance therefore fell to the visitors, Robbie Kruse taking advantage of a loose ball to force a fine save from Robin Himmelmann with three minutes gone. The Boys in Brown threatened for the first time with a short corner on 14 minutes. Waldemar Sobota knocked in a dangerous ball to the back post that keeper Felix Dornebusch had to help behind for another corner. Almost immediately, Kauczinski's side created a promising overload situation, only for Vitaly Janelt to bring down Sami Allagui just before he could deliver a pass. Sobota hit the resulting free-kick into the box, but Bochum's six-man wall were able to put the ball behind for a corner, which came to nothing.

These two half-chances appeared to give the Boys in Brown confidence and they gradually took control of the proceedings. And on 34 minutes they got their reward when the visitors were unable to clear a Cenk Sahin free-kick, allowing Lasse Sobiech to open the scoring with a powerful left-foot drive into the far corner.

As the combination of Sahin and Sobiech had worked so well, the same two players tried it again four minutes later. The former dispatched a dead ball into the middle and Dornebusch produced a superb stop to keep out the goalscorer's bullet header. Bochum were unable to blunt the threat posed by the lanky defender and two minutes later Sobiech hit the crossbar with a bouncing header from Sobota's corner.

A powerful Lasse Sobiech drive gave the Boys in Brown a 1-0 half-time lead.

The second half began with a bang. Bochum came out determined to put things right and quickly fashioned two decent chances. In the opening minute Kruse laid an intelligent ball off for Kevin Stöger to test Himmelmann from the edge of the box, and then Stefano Celozzi forced a stupendous save from the St. Pauli keeper with a shot that was heading towards the angle. The resulting corner transformed into a promising counterattack for the Boys in Brown, however. Sahin charged past Sidney Sam and slipped a superb pass to Schneider, who kept a cool head to dispatch the ball past Dornebusch to make it 2-0.

With a two-goal cushion the game was made for the Kauczinski's side. Bochum continued to probe but were unable to find a way through the tight brown-and-white defence. That meant plenty of space in which to launch counterattacks. Schneider knocked a pass into the path of Sami Allagui, whose shot under pressure was saved by Dornebusch. It could have been 3-0, but instead the visitors pulled a goal back somewhat out of the blue when the Boys in Brown were unable to clear their lines from a corner and Lukas Hinterseer steered the ball past Himmelmann from close range. Bochum pushed forward in search of an equaliser but Kauczinski's charges defended their lead with passion, and when Anthony Losilla was sent off for a second bookable offence in the final minute of regulation time, it was all done and dusted.

FC St. Pauli

Himmelmann – Zander, Sobiech, Avevor, Buballa – Flum, Park – Sahin (Litka 68'), Allagui (Choi 90'+4), Sobota – Schneider (Kalla 85')

Head coach: Markus Kauczinski

VfL Bochum

Dornebusch – Gyamerah (Hoogland 60'), Losilla, Bastians – Celozzi, Janelt (Tesche 89'), Danilo – Sam (Wurtz 65'), Stöger, Kruse - Hinterseer

Head coach: Jens Rasiejewski

Goals: 1-0 Sobiech (34'), 2-0 Schneider (49'), 2-1 Hinterseer (75')

Yellow cards: Park, Flum - Janelt, Stöger

Red card (second yellow): Losilla (persistent foul play 90')

Referee: Bibiana Steinhaus

Attendance: 29,005

Photos: Witters